Before the Fall
by iffulovedme
Summary: Pre-Massacre. ItaKaka, ItaShisui, ItaSasu. Itachi and Sasuke have the house to themselves for summer. Sasuke wants to bond with Itachi but he's not the only one. Itachi watches, amused. He's waiting for something, but what?


From an early age, Itachi Uchiha was destined to become the best. The best at everything, whether it be kunai throwing or being mathematically superior, Itachi would do it as long as he found it relevant to being the best. Destined and determined. Whether his success was due to one or the other, Itachi reached greatness very early on. He'd already mastered the sharingan, become a Chunin. He'd also been promoted to ANBU captain last year. He was, in every sense of the word, an elite shinobi. Itachi knew it quite well himself, to be sure. Some might even say he was the very best. Itachi knew all of this and was completely confident in his abilities. Which is why when Sasuke said, "I want you to sit down there and do absolutely nothing until I say otherwise," all Itachi had to do was raise one elegant eyebrow to get his disbelief across.

Still, for the rest of the world, which happened to unfortunately include his brother, Itachi's body language was not enough. When Sasuke was a little older, the first thing Itachi would do would be to teach him the language of Itachi. But until then, Itachi asked, "You want me to do what, exactly?"

Let it be known that Itachi wasn't not confused in the usual, plebian sense. It wasn't as though he didn't understand what, or even that he couldn't, because he could – Itachi could do anything, it was the why his otouto would request such a bizarre task from him.

Sasuke was still an Uchiha though, which counted for something. As a result, he understood that his elder genius of a brother was not asking _what_, but _why_. "Because I want to see if you can do it."

Itachi tilted his head to the side. It would have been cute on anyone else but him. When Itachi did it, it looked smooth and calculated. And in the right circumstances, with the right lighting, threatening.

Sasuke was apparently on a roll today because he understood his brother's refusal to accept that as an answer.

"Fine, I wanted to draw you. Okay? Happy?" Sasuke snapped back, arms crossed in defiance. He had quickly acknowledged that Itachi would not be satisfied with that answer. But really, the real answer was so much more embarrassing. Uchihas were kind of anal about pride. These two brothers in particular.

"Ah, Sasuke, can you even draw?" Itachi's tone was lazy, bordering on condescension.

"Yes, I can. Our summer homework was to draw someone. So I chose you. Now sit still!" Sasuke humph'ed and got out his materials.

Itachi didn't believe Sasuke for a second. The way his breath hitched and his nostrils flared alerted Itachi to the fact that Sasuke was lying. But it probably nothing. The thought of Sasuke doing anything clandestine was laughable. But apparently he was serious about drawing Itachi. He watched as Sasuke took out his calligraphy pens, paper and a book for a surface to draw on. Their mother had gotten Sasuke the kit before school had started.

Shaking his head, Itachi walked to what he thought was the center, which it was – Itachi's logic was scary like that, and sat down, legs crossed Indian ninja style. Itachi found his brother amusing. Such a strange boy Sasuke was. Or was Sasuke normal? Itachi never quite understood how that worked. Itachi was a genius, abnormally so. Laughter, fun, doing victory dances, everything he regarded as beneath him, were they really? Or were they so high above him that he couldn't reach them? Which was a strange notion as Itachi could do anything he wanted. But why would he want to look like an idiot? Were things he thought abnormal normal? But he was the genius, the prodigy. Wasn't he always right? It was the only thing he'd never figured out.

_"Fine, I wanted to draw you. Okay? Happy?"_

Happy? Was that a normal response to a question? It was strange thing to ask, Itachi thought. Also thinking that it was adorable when Sasuke got huffy.

But really, Sasuke had provided him with something to think about while Sasuke painted him. _Was_ he happy? No, Itachi decided, he wasn't. Itachi was not a very happy person. He rarely laughed or smiled; he was very self-disciplined and known to be a harsh captain. Too much responsibility hadn't weighed down his shoulders, but his heart. And it wasn't that he couldn't handle being the ANBU captain; he could, and he could do it better than anyone else. But still...What would it take for Itachi to be happy? Itachi didn't know. He didn't know what happiness was. If he'd ever been happy before. And what about his younger brother? _Was _Sasuke happy? Itachi turned to look at his brother. Sasuke's pale face was scrunched up and he was glancing quickly between Itachi and the sheet of paper. _Cute_, Itachi thought. Yes, Sasuke was happy.

Sasuke sighed in relief. He'd been half afraid Itachi would leave him; it wasn't that far-fetched of an idea.

Itachi sighed as well, though he did it mentally. Showing any outward signs of weakness was frowned upon and Itachi was unusually well behaved, even if he was fourteen. Even if it was an act.

Itachi propped himself on his elbows, not caring if he changed positions. He settled in to wait. It wouldn't be that hard. Itachi had monumentally sized reserves of patience from which he could draw on if he needed to. For example, waiting out the enemy or waiting for Sasuke to finish taking a shower. Itachi tried to ignore the moans wafting out (Sasuke clearly thought no one could hear him masturbate while the water was running - Itachi found Sasuke's cluelessness cute), thinking it was lucky that his father was on a secret mission that would last until school started up again– well, not so secret. Itachi knew exactly what his father was doing; he'd actually been the one to place the scroll where his father could find it, so he could then to pass it on to the messenger and so forth. And his mother had gone to some extensive ikebana convention in another village. Flowers and women. Two subjects that utterly puzzled and bored Itachi so he didn't bother with them.

Itachi was in charge for the next couple of days. And he was more than responsible; they didn't need Kakashi sensei, thank you very much. Itachi wouldn't mind seeing Kakashi, only not with Sasuke around. And in order to prove how responsible he was, at least to himself if nothing else, Itachi told himself he would spend more time with Sasuke. He knew Sasuke would be overjoyed, but still hadn't quite anticipated the energetic bouncing and bone crushing hug. Itachi was on a short break as ANBU captain and it made him smile, on the inside anyway, that he might get more bruises from Sasuke's shows of affection than when he was on missions. Itachi had so far never been injured on a mission. Itachi's hair and clothes were as always perfectly in place when he came back from a life-threatening mission as they had been when he left. He couldn't say the same for his team mates.

Itachi had looked forward to bonding with Sasuke; he'd missed his little foolish brother as much as he missed anyone. He missed Shisui too, sometimes after a particularly long mission. And Kakashi. But Shisui always made it up to him. Itachi may have surpassed Shisui skill wise, but Shisui kept proving there were more useful ways to use one's hands. Itachi had agreed quickly once he found out how incredible Shisui's tongue muscle was.

And Kakashi…Well, Kakashi never really _said_ he'd missed Itachi, but the sex was always hotter, the moans louder, when they'd been apart. But to Itachi, both relationships were a game. Nothing serious that he couldn't end if he wanted to. Not that everything wasn't a game to Itachi. Itachi liked games. And he liked to win. There was nothing like winning. And for now, he liked Shisui. And he vaguely admired Kakashi, his strength, not his perverse nature. And they both evidently liked him. So it worked out. Itachi didn't know if Shisui or Kakashi knew the other existed. He didn't really care; he didn't fancy the idea of them fighting over him. Itachi didn't like that kind of attention. He never had.

It would come to a head, one of these days. And there would be tears, and yelling and accusations. Itachi wouldn't be the one crying, yelling or accusing, but still, it wasn't Itachi's ideal way to spend an evening. He got enough of that at home from his father. So if only because of selfish reasons, Itachi didn't want anyone knowing anything.

This way, no one's feelings got hurt and Itachi's escape was still valid. He wouldn't say he used sex as an escape per se, but it helped him when he needed to stop thinking. Itachi's brain never stopped working and only shut down during orgasm. It wasn't really a problem because both Kakashi and Shisui were all too eager to help him. Itachi wondered if Sasuke knew about his relationship with their cousin and the Copy Ninja. Probably not. Then again, Sasuke was an Uchiha, Itachi's own little copy, so nothing was ever certain.

And yes, as a matter of fact, Sasuke did know. About both of them. And he was not happy, not one tiny bit. He didn't like to share Itachi. _His_ Itachi.

Sasuke glanced at his kit their mother had gotten him. It was nice and looked expensive. Sasuke thought that she felt bad because everyone always paid a lot of attention to Itachi, often neglecting Sasuke. But Sasuke didn't really mind; he looked up to his brother just as much, if not more, than anyone else. Sasuke didn't see his own potential, didn't think he was anything important. Sasuke thought Itachi deserved all the attention.

Itachi. Sasuke looked down at his paper, grinning slightly. He'd drawn a pretty crude sketch of Itachi. Itachi's body was disproportional to his head, but he'd managed to capture the way Itachi's hair fell across his face like swirls of dark smoke. And he'd captured the expression of haughtiness mixed with boredom. There was regality in Sasuke's picture that held true to the Uchiha prince himself. Though pleased with the way his portrait was taking shape, Sasuke was feeling bad. For the first time in his life, he'd lied to Itachi. But again, telling the truth was _embarrassing_. The assignment was to draw a picture of the person you admire most. And for Sasuke, that was Itachi. But he hadn't told Itachi, wasn't sure how he would reacted. Itachi could be weird about compliments. And Sasuke wanted their summer to be perfect.


End file.
